Unable to help Myanmar, U.S. ships head home

Unable to help, U.S. ships head homeMyanmar's junta not cooperating, relief workers say

Associated Press

Published
5:30 am CDT, Thursday, June 5, 2008

Local residents unload a small boat of fish outside Pathein in the Delta region of Myanmar.

Local residents unload a small boat of fish outside Pathein in the Delta region of Myanmar.

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

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Local residents unload a small boat of fish outside Pathein in the Delta region of Myanmar.

Local residents unload a small boat of fish outside Pathein in the Delta region of Myanmar.

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Unable to help Myanmar, U.S. ships head home

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YANGON, MYANMAR — U.S. Navy ships laden with relief supplies will steam away from Myanmar's coast today, their helicopters barred by the ruling junta even though millions of cyclone survivors need food, shelter or medical care.

More than a month after the storm, many people in stricken areas still have received no aid at all and the military regime continued to impose constraints on international rescue efforts, humanitarian groups said Wednesday.

"I am both saddened and frustrated to know that we have been in a position to help ease the suffering of hundreds of thousands of people and help mitigate further loss of life, but have been unable to do so because of the unrelenting position of the Burma military junta," said Adm. Timothy J. Keating, head of the U.S. Pacific Command. Myanmar is also known as Burma.

The USS Essex and three other amphibious assault ships, which have been in international waters off Myanmar since May 13, will continue with their previously scheduled missions, Keating said in a statement.

But Keating added that "should the Burmese rulers have a change of heart and request our full assistance for their suffering people, we are prepared to help."

He said the U.S. had made "at least 15 attempts" to persuade the junta to allow the ships, which carry 22 medium and heavy helicopters, four landing craft and 5,000 sailors and Marines, to deliver aid directly to victims in Myanmar's most badly damaged areas.

U.S. military C-130 transport planes are being allowed to fly in relief supplies to Yangon, the country's biggest city, from a temporary base in Thailand.

U.N. officials estimated 1.1 million people still needed help.

The government says 78,000 people were killed by the May 2-3 cyclone and 56,000 more are unaccounted for.

The junta, which explicitly rejected the use of foreign military helicopters in the relief effort, has not authorized the entry of nine civilian helicopters flying on behalf of the U.N. World Food Program though they have been in Thailand since last week.